Legal Practice Areas

Legal Malpractice

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney fails to meet the professional standard of care, causing financial harm to their client. In Illinois, clients must prove an attorney-client relationship existed, the attorney breached their duty through negligence or misconduct, and this breach directly caused recoverable damages. Common examples include missing deadlines, inadequate preparation, conflicts of interest, and ignoring client instructions. Successful legal malpractice cases require expert testimony and often involve proving a "case within a case" - demonstrating both the attorney's negligence and that the client would have won the underlying matter but for that negligence.

Lender Liability

Lender liability law provides important protections for borrowers facing financial difficulties, including claims for breach of contract, breach of good faith, economic duress, and violations of lending regulations. Borrowers can assert numerous defenses against collection efforts and take proactive steps to protect their assets through the creation of trusts, retitling assets, exemptions, and other legal strategies. Acting quickly is crucial, as both claims against lenders and asset protection strategies have strict time limitations under Illinois law.

Breach of Contract

Contract disputes involve breach of written, oral, or implied agreements, with remedies including damages, specific performance, and injunctions. Even without formal contracts, Illinois law provides recovery through quasi-contract theories like quantum meruit (reasonable value of services) and unjust enrichment (preventing unfair benefit retention). Success requires proving either traditional contract elements (offer, acceptance, consideration) or that one party conferred a benefit that would be unjust for the other to retain without compensation.

Commercial Litigation

Commercial litigation encompasses diverse business disputes including, but not limited to: contract disputes, partnership and shareholder disagreements, business torts, intellectual property infringement, employment claims, and product liability. These specialized cases often involve higher stakes and costs than traditional litigation, requiring expertise in specific areas of the law. In fact, Cook County maintains a dedicated Commercial Calendar with judges who exclusively handle these complex matters, recognizing their unique nature and importance to the business community.

Family Disputes Involving Trusts, Probate, Estates, or Partnerships

When family relationships turn into legal battles over money, property, or business interests, you need fearless representation to protect what's rightfully yours. Gentleman Law takes on the complex family trust, estate, and partnership disputes that other attorneys are unwilling to handle...

Appellate Law and Appeals

Illinois law provides an absolute right to appeal final judgments to the appellate court, but strict timing requirements and complex procedural rules make experienced counsel essential. Appeals must be filed within 30 days and different standards of review apply depending on whether the issue involves questions of law, fact, or discretion. Success requires not only understanding these standards but also properly preserving issues for appeal. Gentleman Law has successfully pursued appeals for more than 25 years and has obtained numerous reversals of trial court decisions in state and federal court.